Sharks chomp Pirates, claim title

The squad claimed the regular season crown in the Caribbean Creations Ball Hockey League. Kings Sports Center would see the Sharks finish with 19 wins, four draws, four losses and 42 points after a 5-1 win over the Pirates this month. Jason Keating had the lone score for the losing side.

A number of players have starred for the Sharks this season. Brad De Schiffert scored a league-high 32 goals, ahead of team mates Claude Plamondon (26 goals) and Jamie Nelson (19 scores). Plamondon ended his MVP-caliber campaign with a competition-best 24 assists, ahead of De Schiffert (16 assists) and Brendan Rainonen (12 assists). To no surprise, the Sharks had the best offense (scoring a league-best 147 goals) and the top defense (allowing a league-low 67 goals).

With the loss, the Pirates would end up third at 10-3-14 with 23 points. The squad was in the middle of the pack statistically, scoring 80 goals while conceding 96 scores. Derek Bruce had a team-high 21 goals while Paul Strenk nabbed 14 assists.

The Barracudas finished in second, at 11-2-14 with 24 points, after a 5-1 win over the Deloitte Devil Rays. Andrew Bowden, Mike Bowden, Evan Ellbogen and Dan O’Flaherty scored for the winners with Dan Florek nabbing the lone goal for Deloitte. Ellbogen, David Fiebig, Joel Young and Graeme Thompson all had assists for the Barracudas. For the season, Ellbogen was the biggest threat with 25 goals (third-most in the competition) and 11 assists.

Deloitte would end up fourth at 8-3-16, courtesy of the league’s worst defense (with 110 goals allowed) and a flat offense (scoring a league-low 65 goals). Brian Lehnerer and Leo Kassam were the team’s top scorers with 11 and nine goals, respectively. Jason Perras and Jered Vienneau led Deloitte with seven assists each.

With the 28-week regular season over, attention now turns to the playoffs – with fixtures expected to be announced at a later date. With all four teams advancing to the postseason, the opening round match-ups will see the Sharks facing the Devil Rays while the Barracudas tangle with the Pirates.